Chapter 462 - This One is a little Bit Special

Dave moved toward the port area of his capital. Surprisingly the Church of the G.o.d of Light was placed in an open area right next to the sea. After he entered the cathedral he ignored the priests who were shouting that this was a sacred place and an Undead had nothing to do here.

He walked down the stairs to where he believed the flagellation chambers should be, thankfully, there were no people in there, nor stains or marks of torture. The Qin Kingdom appeared to have been less corrupt than the Devastator's Western Kingdom. It was most likely due to the lack of poor people in this area. Poor people were more likely to steal to sustain their livelihood, and they made perfect targets for the flagellators of the church.

Dave looked for the trapdoor that would lead to the lower part of the cathedral and where he suspected another temple of the Ash King to hide its entrance. His theory was proven correct as he found what he was looking for with ease and walked through it.

The entrance was pretty similar to what he encountered back at Icathia, ma.s.sive swarms of Imps prostrating to a pillar in the center. Dave marched through them and entered the pillar, yet he was surprised what he found inside.

The previous temple had a compounded floor, where blood from the flagellation chambers filled the area, creating the Blood Eaters. Yet here, there was nothing of the sort. It was a simple long bridge extended to the end where he saw the Ash King's Chalice. Dave walked up the bridge that hung above a chasm of emptiness.

Once he arrived at the other side, he picked up the goblet and threw it for the ever so hungry s.h.i.+eld of Ajax to consume.

The temple began trembling and Dave ran across the bridge to safety. Yet when he was midway through the bridge something fell on it.

A gigantic Sworn Stalwart, but instead of the red flaming fire that usually covered their kind's body, the flames around it were black as the night. Stalwarts usually had no eyes, but this one had two bright red ones that glared b.l.o.o.d.y murder as they gazed upon Dave.

The Stalwart didn't utter a sound as it moved with breathtaking speed toward Dave.

Dave dodged the charging Stalwart using [Immortal Apparition], teleporting behind it and bolting for the pillar.

The Stalwart chased after him, rocking the bridge as it ran over it. Its movements were like those of a hunting lion instead of a wiggling lizard.

Dave spun as he slashed at the bridge with Durandal, fissuring the rock made structure. He kept moving and slas.h.i.+ng at the bridge, weakening it.

Once the Stalwart's paw smashed against the ground, the cracks Dave made gave way, and the whole structure began falling, Dave had safely entered the pillar leaving nothing but the loud high-pitched scream of the Stalwart behind him.

Dave didn't dream for a second that the creature would have died, especially since he had inspected it right before he left the bridge area.

Dave's brows were knit tightly, "Really, Ash King? That was seriously a nasty thing to prepare for me." Dave mumbled as he was looking at the Stalwart's info screen.

"I can't have this f.u.c.ker move around in my territory. Too dangerous!"

***

***

Sworn Stalwart (Chosen One)

Level 650

Tier (Ethereal)

Alignment [Demonic]

Danger Level ☠ ☠ ☠

DN 250,000

MA 250,000

HP 250,000,000

Skills:

[Blessed One] (Pa.s.sive) Revives stronger after death. Each Death Increases the base HP pool by ???% HP.

[Abyssal Flames] All of the Chosen One's Stalwart flame effects have an additional impact upon the enemy's gear, mental state and cause immolation instead of Overheating.

[Immolation] Once a player enters [Overheating] their avatar will immolate for 20% of their maximum HP instantly.

[Infernal Aura] Causes 0.5% of the target's Max HP in flat damage. Continuous and cannot be interrupted unless the Sworn Stalwart is stunned, once the Sworn Stalwart regains his senses, the aura effect will resume.

[Ray of Flames] Shots a torrent of blazing flames that could melt terrain. Deals 20% of the target's max HP in flat damage value.

[Granite Skin] The Sworn Stalwart is a creature made from the wrath of a volcano, it coats its body with a thin layer of Granite that could negate 20% of the damage dealt to it. Once the granite skin is broken, the Sworn Stalwart will receive 20% additional damage.

Lore

A creature of the depth, bound to serve the Ash King as a slave and protector. This one, had gained the favour of the Ash King and been turned into a Chosen One. He rules over all the Stalwarts of his dominion. It is a rare creature, unlike his simple mindless havoc seeking Sworn Stalwart brethren that has the ability to evolve further.

These creatures feed on magma and are immune to fire, in their presence, heat in the area increases to an alarming rate inducing DOT of 5,000HP/second.

***

Dave ran through the Imps and out of the cathedral.

He shouted as high as he could, "LEAVE THE CATHEDRAL NOW!" his voice, empowered by his status as a king, and the power Andre's armor granted him, made everyone who had heard his order scatter as if h.e.l.l itself was chasing them. The cathedral emptied in less than a minute, and Dave was out by the moment the cathedral shuddered the first time.

He turned and headed to the nearby Sea, slamming his open palm against the water, "Kraken! COME!"

With his words, the waves froze then melted back into the sea, as if the whole body of sea turned into a dead unmoving object. The sea surface became a mirror, not the smallest of ripples could move on it. Suddenly, behind Dave, the cathedral burst into a torrent of dark flames. The Chosen Stalwart was out and was seeking vengeance. It turned its ugly face to Dave and was about to attack.

"Kraky, give that b.i.t.c.h the Ice-Bucket Challenge treatment!"

The Kraken's tentacles sprang from within the water like coiling dragons, latching on to the Stalwart, wrapping him in his limbs then pulling him up.

The black flames burnt through the Kraken's tentacles, but the creature was Undead, it didn't care for pain, or for the fact that it lost its limbs when the flames of the Stalwart seared through them like a hot knife through b.u.t.ter.

It had completed its task by dragging the Stalwart into its domain. And from then on, began a battle.

Dave jumped up and landed on the sea surface. He didn't have any of his Boyz with him. Anyone at or beneath the Death Knight would instantly die against the Stalwart just by being next to it, and his soon-to-be Doom Knights were all on their quests to earn their upgraded Rank. Dave was going to fight alone, or so he thought.

A man, wearing silver armor and a short sword, dashed with speed far exceeding what Dave could register, he was probably as fast as the demi-G.o.d Monk that Dave had faced twice.

The silver armor gave Dave a flashback, he had seen this person before. Once as a foe, and once an ally, but what was he doing here?

Dave didn't ask the question, he charged ahead, far slower than the man in front, but not any less powerful he believed.

The man jumped up, his short sword s.h.i.+ning in a white light then slashed with it at the Stalwart's paw.

The creature reared back, pained by the attack yet not any less ferocious, the Chosen Stalwart opened its gullet and bit at the silver wearing man.

Dave arrived right in time to offer a shoulder dash into the Stalwart that rocked him to the side. This gave the man in silver a moment to jump above the Stalwart and land on the back of its head.

Flames coalesced around the man yet he ignored it. He was undead, which was clear from how little the fire phased him.

"Kalel! What are you doing here?" Dave asked.

Kalel, the rogue Undead that the Undead King had to personally come and bind into service was once again by Dave's side.

He slashed at the Stalwart's neck, doing little to no damage. Kalel jumped back via an acrobatic backflip, he landed on the sea surface and hopped back and away from the Stalwart's aura.

"His Majesty sent me to aid you. I have been a.s.signed under your command, Lord Prince."

"Right, he did promise to send you to me once I was strong enough. Good. Your help here will be much appreciated. Kraky, fighting above sea level isn't much different than fighting on the ground, pull us down!" Dave called.

The Kraken released its hold on the physic of the water, and all three, Dave, Kalel, and the Stalwart fell into the sea depths.

The fire from the Stalwart, too strong to be snuffed by the seawater, raged high and hot, causing bubbles and steam to blast from around the monster. This caused serious damage to the Stalwart, the explosion of steam and water around it was rocking it. Its own physics was contributing to its demise.

"Use these to move!" Dave ordered and pointed at Kalel. Three ethereal sharks chained by rusty iron chains, dragging a steel made chariot dashed from within the water and right next to Kalel. Dave had a Shark Chariot of his own.

"Let's whittle it down, we have the advantage here," Dave called. Water didn't affect the Undead. They didn't need any oxygen to breathe, yet it was causing steam explosions around the Stalwart, damaging it further.

Finally, the Stalwart finding it taxing to keep its flames around decided to snuff them out on its own volition. The heat explosions died down and this allowed it to have a better chance at fighting underwater.

The Stalwart swam up, but once it touched the surface, a thin film of water stopped it, it clawed at it, but found no way to breach the surface. It understood that its enemies had found a way to trap it under the sea.

Sadly, as it appeared to Dave, the Stalwart didn't need to breathe either and it was not a bad swimmer at all. It was using its tail to move around, like a shark. The Stalwart turned toward Dave and swam forward like an incoming torpedo.

"This game never fails to surprise me! Underwater battle experience! Let's do this!"

He yanked the chains and had his Ghost Sharks charge at the Stalwart.